300+ NC DHHS Employees Impacted By Shutdown

RALEIGH -- More than 300 North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services employees were told to stay home from work following the recent government shutdown.

The department reports a total of 337 employees were immediately affected by the shutdown.

The shutdown did not affect those only partially funded by the government, according to a news release. Those employees will be allowed to continue going to work while the department assesses the impact of the shutdown over the next few days.

Department representatives say up to 4,500 DHHS employees could be furloughed or see their hours cut back during the shutdown.

Medicaid and services at DHHS' state-operated healthcare facilities won't be affected during the shutdown, according to the department. And, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says food stamps will be distributed during the month of October.

Here's a list of other possible impacts of the government shutdown from NC DHHS:

- The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, will shut down this month as remaining funding runs out. The program is 100% federally funded and provides supplemental food, health care referrals and nutrition education for almost 264,000 women, infants and young children each month.

- Funding for North Carolina 's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, called Work First, will begin to run out.

- The Child Care Development Fund will begin to run out. Existing funds will likely cover a portion of the month of October.

- Funds for Adult Protective Services and Guardianship Services will begin to run out.